Ruth Egherman
Hello everyone, and welcome to Beyond the Stage. I’m Ruth Egherman, joined by our host, Chris Carter. And this podcast is to let our listeners go beyond the stage and behind the scenes at Livermore Valley Arts and The Bankhead Theater. And we’ll be interviewing some of our artists coming up for the 23-24 season. And today’s guest is Keiko Matsui.
Chris! It’s the summertime.
What do you do in the summer when there aren’t any shows on the stage? Well, not as many Bankhead Presents.
Chris Carter
There are some shows. We have a–today’s July 13th. We’ve got Debbie Gibson tonight. Did you hear about that one?
Ruth Egherman
A little bit? Everybody. Well, you know, Andrew and Kendra and marketing and development are super excited about this show. Andrew actually got tickets to the meet and greets this afternoon, so he’s going to get to meet her up close and personal.
Chris Carter
Probably could have figured out a way for him to meet her without getting the ticket. We do know people.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah, I guess somebody, somebody had an extra one, so they could too.
Chris Carter
Well, that was nice of him to…
Ruth Egherman
Yeah.
Chris Carter
To go through the proper channels, I guess.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah.
Chris Carter
I was just listening to the soundcheck a few minutes ago before we started. It’s a little loud, but I think they just got started, so we’ll see. I think it’s going to be a great show. There’s a lot of video and lights and everything.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah, I think they brought their own lighting package is what Rachel was telling me.
Chris Carter
Yeah, well, we. We brought in some lights and Gary, our Production Manager has been asking me for a long time to get some concert lighting, some new concert lighting. And so we’re going to see how this goes.
Ruth Egherman
And yeah, I think I think concert lighting would make some of our our shows just absolutely amazing. I mean, they’re already really cool.
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Ruth Egherman
That concert lighting would add another element.
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Ruth Egherman
So we can we can pull it off right at it’s all about it’s all about pulling it off and making it happen.
Chris Carter
If we can pull? We can pull anything off! Have you been inside the theater? It’s amazing! Uh, no-so you’re talking about this summer. I do have a trip planned. I’m leaving tomorrow. I’m going to Europe for ten days. So I’m going to Italy. It’s with my family.
Ruth Egherman
And with your whole family, right? Like your your sister and her kids are.
Chris Carter
My sister is coming with her kids. And my parents, my dad just turned 80 this year. And his his mother is from this region in Italy, in northern Italy, near Venice. And that’s where part of his family was from. I know Carter sounds really Italian. It’s it’s on his mom’s side. So we have relatives out there and my dad’s actually my parents have gone out there a couple of times and I’ve met several my Italian cousins when they come out to visit, but I’ve never been to where they’re from.
Ruth Egherman
Hello everyone, and welcome to Beyond the Stage. I’m Ruth Egherman, joined by our host, Chris Carter. And this podcast is to let our listeners go beyond the stage and behind the scenes at Livermore Valley Arts and The Bankhead Theater. And we’ll be interviewing some of our artists coming up for the 23-24 season. And today’s guest is Keiko Matsui.
Chris! It’s the summertime.
What do you do in the summer when there aren’t any shows on the stage? Well, not as many Bankhead Presents.
Chris Carter
There are some shows. We have a–today’s July 13th. We’ve got Debbie Gibson tonight. Did you hear about that one?
Ruth Egherman
A little bit? Everybody. Well, you know, Andrew and Kendra and marketing and development are super excited about this show. Andrew actually got tickets to the meet and greets this afternoon, so he’s going to get to meet her up close and personal.
Chris Carter
Probably could have figured out a way for him to meet her without getting the ticket. We do know people.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah, I guess somebody, somebody had an extra one, so they could too.
Chris Carter
Well, that was nice of him to…
Ruth Egherman
Yeah.
Chris Carter
To go through the proper channels, I guess.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah.
Chris Carter
I was just listening to the soundcheck a few minutes ago before we started. It’s a little loud, but I think they just got started, so we’ll see. I think it’s going to be a great show. There’s a lot of video and lights and everything.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah, I think they brought their own lighting package is what Rachel was telling me.
Chris Carter
Yeah, well, we. We brought in some lights and Gary, our Production Manager has been asking me for a long time to get some concert lighting, some new concert lighting. And so we’re going to see how this goes.
Ruth Egherman
And yeah, I think I think concert lighting would make some of our our shows just absolutely amazing. I mean, they’re already really cool.
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Ruth Egherman
That concert lighting would add another element.
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Ruth Egherman
So we can we can pull it off right at it’s all about it’s all about pulling it off and making it happen.
Chris Carter
If we can pull? We can pull anything off! Have you been inside the theater? It’s amazing! Uh, no-so you’re talking about this summer. I do have a trip planned. I’m leaving tomorrow. I’m going to Europe for ten days. So I’m going to Italy. It’s with my family.
Ruth Egherman
And with your whole family, right? Like your your sister and her kids are.
Chris Carter
My sister is coming with her kids. And my parents, my dad just turned 80 this year. And his his mother is from this region in Italy, in northern Italy, near Venice. And that’s where part of his family was from. I know Carter sounds really Italian. It’s it’s on his mom’s side. So we have relatives out there and my dad’s actually my parents have gone out there a couple of times and I’ve met several my Italian cousins when they come out to visit, but I’ve never been to where they’re from.
Chris Carter
So we’re really looking forward to it.
Ruth Egherman
So you still have family there? That’s where it where it’s near Venice. Or is that in Venice?
Chris Carter
Near Venice. Yeah, it’s in a town called Montebelluna. That it’s it’s kind of in the foothills between Venice and the Alps there. Yeah. It’s they make a prosecco, this a kind of wine region. So if you like dessert wine with the bubbles in it then that’s. That’s what they like to make out there.
Ruth Egherman
That’s me!
Ruth Egherman
That’s what I like.
Chris Carter
A little too sweet for me.
Ruth Egherman
I like bubbles.
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Ruth Egherman
So I studied art history in college and resisted for the longest time taking Renaissance art because that was just I was just not into it. I was into the Impressionism and the French artists and, you know, the early 19th century, late, late 19th century, early 20th century. And then I took Renaissance art and absolutely fell in love with it.
Ruth Egherman
I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed it and.
Chris Carter
Because it’s the best right?
Ruth Egherman
Well, I mean, that’s subjective.
Chris Carter
No it’s not! Thats objective. Keep going. That’s okay.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah. Because I ah, I just fell in love with it and so Italy has always been on my list of places to go and just to really get into the art because it’s all very public too. Like it’s in churches and in squares and whatever, whatever their, their terminology is.
Chris Carter
They love their art.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah. And so I’m looking forward to someday going to Italy.
Ruth Egherman
We have plans in my household to go to Italy to see the bike race that goes on the Giro d’Italia and just to be able to travel the whole countryside and get to see it. It’s about three weeks. I’ll have to ask for vacation time.
Chris Carter
You will need a lot of time.
Ruth Egherman
I’m going to need some time. I’m banking time right now.
Chris Carter
When I was 19, I went to the Vatican and I never seen anything like that in my life never since. You love art and culture. That’s just an amazing experience. It’s massive.
Ruth Egherman
I can imagine. Yeah,
Chris Carter
But yeah, it’s my first time going back to Italy since I was eight years old. And we’re just going to Italy, you know, Switzerland nearby.
You know what the best thing about Switzerland is?
Ruth Egherman
It borders Italy. I don’t know. There’s no time for chocolate, right.
Chris Carter
As far as the best thing about Switzerland, I don’t really know either, but the flag is a big plus.
Ruth Egherman
Oh, well, if people don’t know what this is…
Ruth Egherman
Did you like that?
Ruth Egherman
Yeah.
Chris Carter
All right.
Ruth Egherman
Good dad joke.
Chris Carter
Yeah, I’ll. I’ll work on that. I’ll work on it. I got other ones maybe next time I’ll do that. Anyways…
Ruth Egherman
So today we talked to Keiko Matsui. Who’s going to be performing here on August 4th. She is fascinating. I loved the way that she talked about how she actually catches music captures melodies. That was really cool.
Chris Carter
I have never heard of the creative writing process like that.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah, I was wondering if that was a familiar thing to you.
Chris Carter
No and she’s.
Ruth Egherman
Interesting vocabulary.
Chris Carter
Yeah. And she said, look. And we asked her what music she listened to and she said, I’m not listening to anything right now because she needs the space to to hear own music. Yeah. And catch it out of the air is kind of how she described it.
Ruth Egherman
She and I have interests… She, she and I have similar tastes in music, which I was surprised to hear her say. But I won’t give any spoilers so that, people will stay and listen to the interview. Right.
Chris Carter
Yeah, no, I’m excited, too, I think is a great interview. And so she’s been to The Bankhead at least seven times that I know of. This will be her eight trip and really popular with the Livermore audience. It’s just incredibly talented musician and her, her band is outstanding, so I hope everybody really enjoys this interview as much as we did.
Chris Carter
She will be coming to The Bankhead on August 4th and you can buy tickets online at
Ruth Egherman
LivermoreArts.org and they’re going fast!
Chris Carter
Yeah they are going fast this could be a sell out so be sure to get your tickets now to see the incredible Keiko Matsui and enjoy the interview.
Keiko Matsui
From Tokyo.
Chris Carter
Oh are you tired?
Keiko Matsui
Jetlagged.
Ruth Egherman
A little jetlag. What’s the time difference between
Keiko Matsui
16 hours.
Ruth Egherman
So your time traveled you went back in time?
Keiko Matsui
Yes. So that’s why I’m “where am I?”
Chris Carter
Well we’re so glad you’re here.
Ruth Egherman
You’re here now.
Chris Carter
Yeah. Thank you, Keiko. So, I’m Chris. I’m the Executive Director at The Bankhend
Keiko Matsui
Great!
Chris Carter
You’ve been here before a couple of times. You did something really nice for us. I just remember during COVID, we had a fundraiser and asked you to do a video for us and you did a beautiful video and helped us raise some money to keep us open.
Keiko Matsui
Happy to hear.
Chris Carter
Thank you for doing that. Really appreciate it.
Keiko Matsui
Thank you for your support for many years.
Chris Carter
Yeah, my pleasure. And this Ruth, Ruth you want to introduce yourself real quick.
Ruth Egherman
Hi. My name’s Ruth Egherman. I’m the Director of Marketing here. Ruth Egherman. Nice to meet you.
Keiko Matsui
Nice to meet you too.
Ruth Egherman
You’re so popular here. Makes my job easy.
Keiko Matsui
Happy to be back again.
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Okay. All right. Welcome. Keiko Matsui’s going to be performing at The Bankhead Theater on August 4th. And Keiko, we’re so glad to have you back. It’s–I was looking it up. I know you’ve been here a lot of times.
Keiko Matsui
Yes.
Chris Carter
This is your eighth performance, I believe at The Bankhead Theater.
Keiko Matsui
Really, I lost the count, but that always I’m very happy to be back to the theater.
Chris Carter
Oh well we’re–we love you, too. We have such a fondness for you. And the audience really responds well to you and your music. And I got to ask, if you’ve been here almost eight times, have you ever had a chance to walk around Livermore or get to know the town at all?
Keiko Matsui
Well before and after, and a little bit. But it’s beautiful scenery and–and the audience is always very, very enthusiastic at the same time, very shows lots of respect and love. I always…and the theater is very intimate, so we feel a connection. So I love that.
Chris Carter
Oh, well thank you. I think this is one of the few places where you can have a conversation with the audience. I feel like they really respond well.
Keiko Matsui
Yes.
Chris Carter
Well, I think they’re going to want to know they’ve been coming a lot for a long time. And I’d love to ask you a little bit about some of your musical background. And I did read that you started playing piano around the age of five.
Is that, that correct?
Keiko Matsui
Yes. Correct.
Chris Carter
Okay. What were you thinking? This I could make a career out of this. What? When did you feel like you were getting to that point?
Keiko Matsui
Well, I was very active child and into sports, into studying and but at the same time, I was taking private piano lessons but studied classical. But I kind of–I showed interest towards many different genres, including jazz pops, movie soundtrack and then but never thought about becoming a professional musician. But when I had opportunity to compose for a movie soundtrack when I was in high school and that was a serious a future movie in Japan.
And a friend director told me about this story and image and then suddenly I received the motif, the melody of that, the theme song. And I wrote it and director chose that melody as a main theme song. And after that, all the movie, all the progress was done and I saw it as a screening. First to view with all the production people and industry people.
And I saw my theme, with the orchestra and rigging at the credit back end roll, and I felt like, Wow, well, and this is such a different thing. Like I was composing and performing, but this is something with a visual. And music plus visual was not only two and expanding more. And then I thought, Oh wow, I love that.
And also I found that I started receiving, I start catching the melodies. Since then I felt something special about being a musician.
Chris Carter
You knew you had to do it.
Ruth Egherman
What was the name of the movie?
Keiko Matsui
It’s called The Drifting.
Ruth Egherman
Drifting?
Keiko Matsui
Yeah, Drifting. And like the boat drifting into that kind of far away islands. And it’s like survival movie.
Chris Carter
Oh, cool.
Ruth Egherman
It’s a Japanese movie.
Keiko Matsui
Yes, Japanese movie. Japanese movie. From Toho, Toho is the biggest movie company. Yeah.
Chris Carter
And so we know you grew up in Japan and so I was going to ask. Well, also with that movie, is there a place we can find it? Is it online? Is it streaming?
Keiko Matsui
I…the movie?
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Keiko Matsui
I think so. But it was a serious movie. So didn’t hit the market.
Chris Carter
Oh really?
Keiko Matsui
But for sure it’s a…but the actor is Kin’ya Kitaōji. He’s a famous actor, too.
Chris Carter
Okay. How old were you again when you did that?
Keiko Matsui
I like it was like 17.
Chris Carter
Wow! I wasn’t doing anything like that at 17. Well, you’re known out here for your jazz music. And I got to ask you, you grew up in Tokyo. Is jazz pretty popular in Japan?
Keiko Matsui
Well, in my era, yes, getting popular. And also, we could see some great artists coming to Tokyo. And I saw, not only jazz, I saw Stevie Wonder in concert at the Budokan, which is in that era, that was the biggest theater. And that inspired me a lot because every song, the strong melodies and with a lot of heart and peace, love and–and then he filled the theater.
So that was a great memory.
Chris Carter
How did you…Because you said you started off with classical music. How did you discover jazz? Do you remember?
Keiko Matsui
Some point, I took the lesson of the organ and and then I started sitting and hearing the chart of sometimes like jazz, but the classical crossover jazz, like a Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue and also Beatles. Beatles. Or….and also I found my mom loved music, so I found the vinyl of Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Keith Jarrett.
And then gradually I started learning music theory at same time, I started listening and copying some of the greatest artists and including like Herbie Hancock, of course, and Chick Corea and then newer era Joe Sample and Bob James, who became good friend later. But then there I was in a great student era.
Chris Carter
I was going to ask you who your early influences were, and you just answered that question. So let’s I was actually listening to your new album yesterday, by the way, which I…
Very lovely, Euphoria. And it looked like you might have some other–another release that just came out. Is that right? Or just Euphoria?
Keiko Matsui
Yes, this was the end of March.
Chris Carter
Okay. This is the newest one. And are we going to hear some of that on the in the concert?
Keiko Matsui
Yes. This time I put special repertoire and said and this is going to be this kind of a showcase to play many songs from this one. And also we will include some classic hits of my composition. But for me, this is very–like something came from different dimension and it includes lots of hope and energy. and love, for sure.
Ruth Egherman
The way you hear the music or it comes to you is very interesting to hear you talk about that. And it sounds like this album came to you from a, from a different place. And you just had to you had to get it out, right?
Keiko Matsui
Yes, yes, yes.
Chris Carter
Can you talk a little bit about that process, how you write and where the creativity comes from? Do you have to be alone in a room? Or do you go travel somewhere? Do you roam all the time? What? What’s your process like?
Keiko Matsui
Yes, I’ve been trying to collect many motifs, as much as possible, before starting really arranging. So this time we had a strange time with a pandemic. So yeah. And I just wanted to get together with everyone in the studio. So till then I decided, okay, I’m going to collect the motifs. So by a year and a half, I was catching motifs and melodies and over, like about 120 motifs I had.
And then last summer I went to the studio, but the before that I squeezed down, my co-producer, Bud Harner, my manager. So 120 to 40 and 40 to 20 and 20 to 12. So, so and when I squeezed down and then each song I completed the composing part so that much I was–my position is like a composer, but when I squeeze down the songs, its’ like a producer view.
Perspective. And then decide the musicians and some songs arrangers. And then polished the song and decided instrumentation. And finally, beginning of July, we went to a studio, United Studio in Hollywood. And finally we could see each other and play in the same room and hear each other. So that was a special, precious moments.
Chris Carter
What’s that like? So when you –so you have this idea and you, you kind of write it all down. You compose this, you think of all the parts, and then when you hear it for the first time, what’s that like for you?
Keiko Matsui
When I hear…sometimes catch in a dream and I wake up, still I remember, and I write it down and also sometimes I just sat front of the piano and just wait, wait, wait, nothing comes and sleep. And again, wake up. But the always I feel like catching from the silence so when I try to play then easily I can play with my phrases.
But I wanted to avoid that because I believe that there’s something special coming for this particular album. And beginning is very, very much–I put pressure over me too much. And then I realize that, so now you have shows and my fans are waiting. And I received a message, Keiko I’m waiting for your new beautiful melody and that inspires me and became this song like “New Passage”, this end of the album, I named that because of my fans, so it reflected.
So then I started feeling like, okay, I can I can do anything and I can like I have a white canvas and 100% I can express myself, then release the pressure and start catching the melody.
Chris Carter
Wow. And you said you had 120 or so motifs. So you composed, you narrowed it down to 12. Are those other ones waiting to be composed? Are you going to put those in a different album? Or do you move on? Or do you just, do they just keep coming to you?
Keiko Matsui
It’s just coming to me and of course I squeeze down, so there are leftover songs from the previous album. But I always, I don’t look back. So it’s just that I want to try to catch freshly.
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Keiko Matsui
And sometimes I receive a certain melody like “Rosso Cantabile” for example, this song, the melody main first melody,
I received it in Redondo Beach, California. And then the other part, like a bass line and the strings line all these phrases I caught in Tokyo while I was walking around my suburb of Tokyo, my residential area. I caught there and I realized, okay, that melody combined to this bass line and the strings would be great. So I was kind of collecting and I received inspiration from many places and different parts of the songs.
Chris Carter
Wow. It sounds like it’s almost spiritual.
Keiko Matsui
Yes. Sometimes very mystic, sometimes.
Chris Carter
For this concert coming up. Is it you and the band? Or how many pieces? Or just you? What are we going to see here?
Keiko Matsui
Yes. This time I love to play with what I call my family on the road and they’ve been traveling with me in Japan and Europe many years. So on drums, Jimmy Branly, who was born in Cuba and bass Rico Belled, who is from Holland and he’s a member of, or as known as, Rippingtons’ bass player. And the guitarist from Brazil, JP Mourão.
So, all four of us are a quartet. Yes. So we are going to perform and its a special repertoire.
Chris Carter
Wow, I remember last time you were here, I was really impressed with your band. I just thought they were such great musicians. So good, good job in surrounding yourself with such great talent and being the center of that. So I think it’s going to be a wonderful show. So we’re really looking forward to it just for fun. I always like to ask, What music are you listening to right now yourself personally?
Keiko Matsui
Well, usually I don’t listen to any.
Chris Carter
Oh no!
Keiko Matsui
Because with travelling so much, I’d better sleep. But still I love, I love sometimes classical music and also like Sting or Stevie Wonder and sometimes here and there I listen, but basically, I like the silence.
Chris Carter
Oh, that’s great. Well, that’s when you can hear your own music, come to you, I guess.
Ruth Egherman
Right. Right. So you need the silence for being able to catch those melodies and bass lines and other phrases that you were talking about. Yeah.
Keiko Matsui
Especially when I’m in the creating mode for the new album. Yeah, I, I just concentrate on that. Listening. Catching.
Ruth Egherman
You and I have similar tastes in music. I love Sting. I love Stevie Wonder.
Keiko Matsui
Oh, really? Oh yeah!
Ruth Egherman
Yeah. Ella Fitzgerald. You named off all these people and I’m like, oh, yeah, you would. I would have fun hanging out, listening to music together.
Keiko Matsui
Okay, let’s go!
Ruth Egherman
August 4th!
Chris Carter
August 4th and I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I know you’re busy, but I do. We want to try a little game with you. I hope that’s okay. And it’s going to be like a speed round. It’s so we’re calling this Either/Or. So I’m going to..we’re going to start off easy and then it’s going to get harder.
Chris Carter
But I give you two choices.
Chris Carter
Between two words and you say which one you like better.
Keiko Matsui
So which way is better?
Chris Carter
I’m going to say. I’m going to say something like chocolate or peanut butter and you say, which one do you like it better?
Keiko Matsui
Oh, okay.
Chris Carter
Chocolate or peanut butter what would you say?
Keiko Matsui
Chocolate.
Chris Carter
Chocolate. Okay. If I say mountains or the coast?
Keiko Matsui
Coast.
Chris Carter
The coast.
Chris Carter
iPhone or Android?
Keiko Matsui
iPhone.
Chris Carter
iPhone, Elvis or The Beatles.
Keiko Matsui
The Beatles.
Chris Carter
Good. You got that one right. Country or rock and roll.
Keiko Matsui
Oh, that’s hard. Maybe rock’n’roll
Chris Carter
Rock and roll. Okay, winter or summer.
Keiko Matsui
Ah! Summer.
Chris Carter
Dogs or cats.
Keiko Matsui
Oh, I love everybody. But cats.
Chris Carter
Cats ok. Burger King or McDonald’s.
Keiko Matsui
Oh between.
Chris Carter
Ok, in the middle. The letter K or the letter M?
Keiko Matsui
K.
Chris Carter
Yeah. Drums or bass.
Keiko Matsui
Woo. They are my favorite. So always, I tried to put it. On this album, I have a three groups, different groups anyway.
Keiko Matsui
So drums.
Chris Carter
Drums.
Ruth Egherman
We won’t tell the bass player.
Chris Carter
We won’t tell anybody jazz or blues
Keiko Matsui
Blues.
Chris Carter
Blues. All right. We’re going to get tough now. Major keys or minor key?
Keiko Matsui
Minor key.
Chris Carter
Minor. Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock.
Keiko Matsui
Oh.
Wow. That’s so hard. Both.
Chris Carter
Both. San Francisco or New York.
Keiko Matsui
I if I have to choose one than San Francisco.
Chris Carter
Okay. San Francisco or Tokyo.
Keiko Matsui
Oh, wow. Tokyo.
Chris Carter
Tokyo, Tokyo or Kyoto.
Keiko Matsui
Kyoto. I haven’t discovered all of it yet, but I have a yearning to Kyoto.
Chris Carter
Okay. Last one Livermore on August 4th or anywhere else in the world.
Keiko Matsui
Ah! Of course, Livermore!
Chris Carter
Well, we’re really looking forward to you coming out here on August 4th. We know it’s going to be a great show and the ticket sales are really good. So you’re going to have a great audience.
Keiko Matsui
Great.
Chris Carter
And I wish you the best of luck on your tour. And we’re so grateful that you’re coming out to Livermore and being a part of the arts here.
Chris Carter
So thank you, Keiko.
Keiko Matsui
Thank you for having us and I hope that we can do an autograph session after the show.
Chris Carter
You got it! We’ll set it up!
Ruth Egherman
Keiko, thank you so much!
Chris Carter
Yeah, well, have a great day. Thank you we’ll see you soon.
Keiko Matsui
Thank you very much.
Ruth Egherman
Thank you.
Keiko Matsui
Ciao.
Ruth Egherman
Bye.
Ruth Egherman
I want to know what was your favorite subject in school?
Chris Carter
My favorite subject in school. Oh My God. Like high school or elementary school. Can I say fourth grade?
Ruth Egherman
Yes, you can say fourth grade.
Chris Carter
That’s when I peaked academically.
Ruth Egherman
That was your peak. It’s been all downhill since you were nine.
Chris Carter
Yeah, pretty much. A lot of hills and valleys.
Ruth Egherman
What are, what or who were your favorite songs or artists or albums from your childhood or adolescence? One song or album that will always make you feel nostolgic.
Chris Carter
This I’ll tell you two or three. The first album I ever bought was at a garage sale and it was Styx, “Kilroy Was Here” because it had “Mr. Roboto” on it, which I thought was an incredible song. And so that was the first piece of music I ever purchased for $0.10, and I still have that tape. It was a tape and it doesn’t sound very good anymore, but I still own it.
The first record I ever bought a vinyl record was Quiet Riot.
“Come on, feel the noize” So I went through a bit of a glam metal phase when I was young. But then when I was starting my adolescence, when I was about 14, I really got into prog rock and progressive rock and roll music and I loved Midnight Oil and R.E.M. and there was an R.E.M. album that I, I still listen to today.
Chris Carter
Green, I think, was probably my favorite album of all time.
Ruth Egherman
I think they just came out with a new album. I heard
Chris Carter
R.E.M..?
Ruth Egherman
I feel like I just saw a headline that was talking about.
Chris Carter
They’ve been broken up for several years, but maybe I’ll take it.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah, there’s some lost recordings, something like that.
Chris Carter
Oh, maybe.
Ruth Egherman
Maybe they released it as an album. Something. Something along those lines. Or maybe I’m misremembering. But it was just a couple days ago.
Chris Carter
That hit me at the very perfect age. And there’s a lot of research that shows the music that your fondness for or that brings back the best feelings is the music that you listened to when you were about 14. And that’s what I was listening to at that time.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah, I’m trying to remember what I listened to when I was 14, and it was probably something that my my sisters or my brother really wanted to play that was like, oh, I don’t know it would have done like on this. Elvis Costello.
Chris Carter
Yeah.
Ruth Egherman
Huge in our house, we were big Elvis Costello fans. Bruce Springsteen is a huge album for us.
Born to Run, the Born to Run album. I feel like I know every lyric of every song on the Born to Run album.
Chris Carter
Wow.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah. And then I saw them. I saw them on my 15th birthday.
Chris Carter
That’s awesome.
Ruth Egherman
It was really awesome.
Chris Carter
You know, when I was that age, I thought the lyrics were the most important thing for any song. And I poured over lyrics and the sleeve of the record and all of that. And it’s funny nowadays I hardly ever, even pay attention to the lyrics, but for some…
Ruth Egherman
You listen to the music right?
Chris Carter
So you’re trying to find it in the music. And I was always trying to figure out what they were trying to say.
But that’s why I liked R.E.M. a lot, is because it was very little bit obscure. It was this kind of puzzle and really had to…
Ruth Egherman
And they had something to say.
Chris Carter
Yeah, and they did it.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah, I and based on what you just said about listening to the music versus the lyric we just watched over the spring, we watched to the Wu-Tang, an American saga, Wu-Tang Clan, American Saga. It was on Hulu or it is on Hulu. And just like I don’t understand the lyrics at all, and I see them up on like we look at the lyrics, you know, and I see them up on a screen and everything and we’re listening to it still don’t really understand what they’re saying, but the beats are incredible.
Ruth Egherman
Just they make you want to listen, you know. And so it doesn’t matter what the lyrics are it’s sort of similar to that, that feeling of just hearing the beats and hearing what they put together as as the music to tell their story. It’s interesting, up until that point, I never I don’t think I’m the type of person who actually listens.
Like I listen to classical music. I’m listening. But a lot of times I’m just listening to the lyrics, you know?
Chris Carter
Well, I don’t know if I’d just become an old man, but like, sometimes I think, like the lyrics now are not as good. And I think that’s an old man thing.
Ruth Egherman
That’s definitely an old man thing. You shouldn’t say that out loud.
Chris Carter
I’m not as inspired by this new music.
Ruth Egherman
You still have teenagers in the house. So you’re hearing, are you hearing the music that they play?
Chris Carter
Yeah. But, you know, they they like all the stuff that I listen to. And I went on a camping trip with my son recently, and all they would listen to with Lynyrd Skynyrd over and over again, like songs from, you know, 40, 50 years ago. And they’re like, this is the best music.
I know. It’s not the same way now.
Ruth Egherman
My youngest came home from from college and her freshman year. So she’s like, I’m really getting into Chicago and I’m like really?
Chris Carter
That was wait…
Ruth Egherman
Oh and Fleetwood Mac is really good. I’m like Ok!
Chris Carter
Yeah. I’ve been listening to them for a long time. My son, i came home and we’re like, in the kitchen and my son goes, Alexa, ELO. ELO? When did you? So I don’t know if the good music lasts I guess.
Ruth Egherman
Yeah. Yeah. All right, Chris, thank you so much. It was fun to talk to Keiko and I think we’re done.
Thanks for joining us today for Beyond the Stage. You can get your tickets to Keiko Matsui and all of our shows for the upcoming 23-24 season at LivermoreArts.org at that LivermoreArts.org for you can call our Box Office at 925-373-6800.
And again, thanks for joining us and we’ll see you next time.
